Footwear and method of making the same



Aug. 2, 1932. l. W.DAVID FOOTWEAR AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Sept. 30. 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l J lgENTOF BY zTTORNEs.

1932- l. w. DAVID I 1,869,410

FOOTWEAR AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed se 't. 30, 19:50 2 Sheets-Sheet 2' 10 INVENTOR Jam,

ATTORNEYS.

Patented fit ing 2 1932 EGOTWEAE AND MEI-H013 GE w hpplicetion filed Qeptemher 80, 1936. Serial Ito. @5375.

This invention relstes to en improvement in footwesr and the method of making the same and in particular to a shoe orssndnl, end the method by which it is made, of any type ordinerily worn by men women or children.

It is s feature of this invention that the shoe or sends]. and the method of its manufecture, is greatly simplified as compared with previous practise. The shoe or sandal produced by my improved method is characterized by greatly increased flexibility and comfort, especially in the bell part, to a. degree-not stteineble with the ordinary turned or outsole-stitched shoe, and at the seine time the heel portion is so formed as to tske edvsntsge of the strengthening end. sheping effect of the presence of sconnter within the qusrter of the shoe.

A further feature of the invention is to provide it one-piece sole member extending throughout the shoe and furnishing ndequete means of s techinent "forell upper parts oi the shoe without the necessity for the introduction of additional portions such as insoles and the like for attachment of the upper, quarter and the like. "Thus l have found it possible to do away entirely with machines whose function it is to stitch or nail the upper and the quarter to the insole and in the prectise of my improved process of shoe construction I have been able to build a. shoe more rapidly, more chee. ly and more strongly than any heretofore own of the ssme'genersl type and appearance.

It is it further feature of the invention to provide s shoe, and a, method of making it, in which the quarter and counter may be attsched end held in place without the use of any welt or'McKey stitching and without the necessity for striving or splitting the edges of the sole. It is thus possible to form n stronger shoe then one in which the leather has been weakened by lateral skiving or by McKay stitching.

- It is sfurther feeiture of the invention to rovide e, shoe, end e' method for its menuscture, heving but it single sole piece or memher but which nevertheless may be equipped st the .i=. region thereof with at strengthening shank of stifi fibrous meterisl or the equivalent which is wholly concealed from view, which is cushioned from the foot of. the wearer and in no way interferes with the stitches or nails which secure the counter and quarter to the sole piece.

A further object of the invention is. to provide e shoe, and 2. method for its-menufecture, in which-there is no outsole stitching Twheteverhut which nevertheless in its heel portion is provided with emolded and. sheped quarter inturned at the bottom apparently secured to a. sole whose edge can be seen, but which in fact is not stitched or sewed et my point.

Further features, objects and edventeges of the invention will appear in connection. with the following description.

This epplicetion is e continuation in pert. end the invention herein described one. claimed is an improvement upon the invere tion of my pending ep licstion for an inn provement in footwear Serisl No. lttwifi led July 19, 1930.

In the annexed drawings which form apart of this specification i Fig. l is a perspective view of the sole piece of my improved shoe molded and split for the subsequent operation. The sole piece is Ehown in its" inverted or upside-down posi- Fig. 2 is n perspective view showing the sole piece of Fig. l nfter attachment thereto of the querter, counter end lining, and :2 heel stiffening member. 7

Fig. 3 is a. perspective view showingthc assembly of Fig. 2 after insertionjtherein oi the supporting shank.

Fig. 4C is s, perspective view showing the assembly of Fig. 3 site of the sole has beenlpnt in plecetolcover the shank. x t s Fig. 5 shows inperspective the complete shoe made according to my invention sitter sttechment of the upper in the forepert, the heel lift, the streps,'etc.

Fig. 6 is a vertical cross-section through the'longitudinale'nis of the shoe shown in Fig. '5.

r the lower portion Like reference numeralsindicate like parts in the several figures.

Referring to the drawings, I first form a molded sole piece 10 of stout sole leather hav- 7 ing an upturned marginal flange 11 defining theedge thereof in the fore or ball part of the shoe. The marginal flange 11 is punched by openings 12 through which the upper may be attached. For convenience I describe and show herein a. shoe having an upper woven from leather strands. It will be understood that uppers of any known type may be attached to the upturned flange 11 inany known way, either with or without the previous punching of the holes 12.

From the re ion of the line 13, 13 and rearwardly thereof which line 13, 13 designates approximately t e rearward end of the portion of the sole piece which bears upon the ground when the shoe is in use) the sole piece is suitably narrowed and is horizontally split across the full width thereof to form a lower or outer flap 14 and an upper or inner flap 15. The line of cleavage between the upper and lower flaps is indicated by dotted ines 16 in Fig. 1 and lies approximately in the region of the line 13, 13 or slightly forward thereof.

The rearward end of the flap 14 is for convenience trimmed to the shape shown at 17 in Fig. 2; andis skived to about half the thickness of the portions of flap 14 forwardly thereof, for convenient attachment of the heel lift, and its edges suitably tapered.

wise secured in place as indicated by nails 21 'in Fig. 2. I prefer to insert a heel stifiening member 22 underneath the flap 15 and between it and the inturned flanges of the lining 20. I This may conveniently be made of stiff fibrous material through which nails can be driven and it serves to give strength to the heel portion of the shoe where the weight of the foot rests. It will be noted that it occupies a. position between the upper and lower flaps of the sole piece when the shoe is entirely assembled.

There is next inserted over the inturned edges of the quarter, counter and lining a suitable shank piece or strengthening member 23, as indicated in Fig. 3. This is preferably formed of stiff fibrous material so that it may be stitched in place by the stitches 24, which bind it tightly to the inner flap 15. of the sole piece and cause it to grip tightly the inturned margins of the quarter, counter and lining, and thus'form a strong unitary heel structure. The shank piece is of suflicient length to extend forwardly from the heel through the shank region of the shoe to a line 26 at or close to the line of cleavage 16 between the upper flap -15 and the lower flap 14 of the sole piece 10. This is in the neighborhood of the line 13, 13 as best illustrated in Fig. 3. The shank piece is sufiiciently held in place at its forward end 26 by the upper and lower flaps of the sole piece 10 and need not be stitched at or near that point.

The lower flap 14 of the sole piece 10 may now be firmly pressed in contact with the unitary heel structure and secured in this position, as shown in Fig. 4, by suitable adhesive. The heel lift 25 is then attached, preferably by nailing, in such a way as to secure the flap 17 between the heel lift 25 and the unitary heel structure and thus to unite the whole permanently.

A suitable upper may be attached-to the forepart of the shoe, together with straps, buckles and the like and, if desired, a sock lining (not shown) may be inserted.

The shoe thus described has all the advantages of shoes heretofore known, and in addition has the particular merit that but a single piece of sole leather is required for each shoe, and this forms with the upper in the heel portion a satisfactory shoe in which there are no stitches whatever passing through the outer or lower flap 14. Thereis thus no necessity for any welt or McKay stitching to hold the lower or outer fia of the sole in place throughout the shan region of the shoe. The stitching required is wholly confined to that which is necessary to secure the shank piece 23 in place and this, in turn, is a simple stitching operation in the'central portion of the shoe which does not require complicated machinery or the lateral splitting of the leather at the edges thereof with subsequent restoring and pasting the marginal flap (as required with McKay stitching operations). It is a particular advantage of my shoe that the heel lift serves as a means of holding in place the lower or protecting-flap of the main sole piece while the heel structure and the inner flap of the main sole piece are secured in a strong unitary structure by means of the stitches passing through the shank and the inner fiapof the sole. The shank piece thus is hidden from view and cannot break through to injure the stocking or make the shoe uncomfortable. Moreover, considering the shoe structure here disclosed as awhole, it is obvious that the shoe does not require in its manufacture the use of any welt or outsole stitching machines, and that the sole member in the forepa-rt of the shoe is a single stout trim appearance is not sacrificed for comfort, for by means of my construction I am enabled to combine a stifi and molded heel structure, where comfort does not demand expansibility, with a forepart which is expansible with the foot, all being combined in a shoe which requires no outsole 'stitchlng, eliminates the necessity for using an inner sole, and is suitably strengthened by a concealed shank at its arch portion.

The process or method of making my shoe is simple and inexpensive. The sole piece is cut to an appropriate shape and the edges in the forepart are molded upwardly under pressure while the'leather is moist to form a suitable marginal flange. Holes for the suitable attachment of the upper in the forepart may be punched either then or after the heel structure has been assembled. At the same time the sole piece is split entirely across from the rear end to approximately the forward end of the arch portion. The shoe is then assembled as herein disclosed. The qtiliart-er, counter and lining are first bent upon 1; e upper flap of the sole in the heel region and stitched or nailed in place. The shank is then stitched in place in such a way as to secure itself, the inturned edges of the quarter, counter and lining, and the inner flap of the sole piece, in one unitary structure. The heel lift is then applied to hold the lower or outer flap of the sole piece in position to conceal the stitching through the shank. At no stage is it necessary to provide or employ an insole, nor to employ the stitchingoperat-lons necessary in connection with an insole. The shoe is therefore less expensive to manufacture because the main sole piece is made to perform the functions both of an inand an out-sole, and in addition all outsole stitchings are eliminated.

Where the expression heel upper assembly is used in the appended claims, it will be understood to include thsquarter 18, coun-- ter 19 and lining 20, or anyone or more of these, with or without the addition of other similar elements, constituting the upper part of the shoe in the shank and heel region.

I claim t- 1. A shoe comprisin a sole formed of a single piece of stock split behind the ball. into two sections, these being an inner and an outer section, a heel upper assembl whose lower flanges are inturned below sai, inner section, a shank-piece of stifi material positioned between said inner and outer sections of thesole and in contactwith the inturned flangespf' said heel upper assembly, stitches passing-- through the inner section of said sole and said shank-piece to engage the sametightly upon said inturned flanges and to cause said flanges, said inner section and said shank-piece tov form a. unitary heel structure, and a. heel nailed to said unitary structure in such man- 7 er section of said sole.

ner as to enclose between itself and said heel structure the outer section of said sole.

2. A shoe comprising a sole formed of a single piece of stock which in its torepart has u turned marginal edges forming a substantlal part of the side of the shoe and perforated near the upper edge thereof for the attachment of an upper and which rearwardly of the ball is. split into two sections, these being an inner and an outer section, a heel upper assembly whose lower flanges are inturned below said inner section, a shank-piece of stifi material positioned between said inner and outer sections of the sole and'in contact with the inturned flanges of said heel upper assembly, stitches passing through the inner section of said sole and said shank-piece to engage the same tightly upon said inturned flan es and to cause said flanges, said inner, section and said shank-piece to form a unitary heel structure, and a heel nailed to said unitary structure in such manner as to enclose between itself and said heel structure the out- 3. The method'of making a shoe containing a sole composed of a single piece of stock and s lit into two sections behind the ball, these eing an inner and an outer section said method comprising laying the inturne flanges of a heel upper assembly upon the inner section of said sole so as to embrace the same, laying a strip of shank-stiffening material upon said inturned flanges so as to cover at least a portion of the same, attaching said strip and said inner section in such manner as to engage the same tightl upon said inturned flanges and to cause said anges,

said inner section and said shank-piece to form a unitary heelstructure, laying the outer section of said sole upon said unitary structure without stitching the same thereto, and nailing a heel upon said outer section and said unitary structure in such manner as to enclose the said outer section of the sole be- 110 tween said structure and said heel.

4. An unturned shoe comprisin a sole whose forepart is vertically upturne around the margin of the shoe to form a portion of the wall of the shoe at the front and sides of the forepart thereof, and which rearwardly of the ball is split into two sections, these being an inner and an outer section, a heel upper assembly secured to said inner section in such manner as to form a unitary heel assembl'y therewith, and a heel, said outer section of the sole being secured without stitchbetweensaid heel assembly and said'heel. A testimony whereo", I have signed my name to this specification.

IRWIN W. DAVID. 

